What would have other President's done with Cindy?

[julialnyc]

August 12, 2005
President Bush, Shameful. . .

It's hard to know, but I think that Harry Truman would have met Cindy Sheehan. I think that Dwight Eisenhower would have. He knew about military sacrifice -- the horror and complexity of it.

The micro life of a soldier -- or an Iraqi victim -- is lost sometimes against the macro drama, no matter what side of the war people might be on.

I think that Carter would be out there with her. I'm really not sure about Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon -- though a hunch tells me that Johnson would have been out there before Nixon and Kennedy.

Ronald Reagan would have stopped his car, if for no other reason that to hold Cindy Sheehan for a few moments, to express the regrets of a nation that her son was lost, and to thank her -- even though he might not have made her and many of us believers in this war.

Bill Clinton would have had Cindy in to the ranch and made a summit of it.

George Bush drove by. . .on the way to a fundraiser. Shameful.

He should have stopped, made a gesture -- even if she stood on the opposite side of his policies.

-- Steve Clemons

http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/

[Patchuli]

1. I think they all would have met with her

despite being Dem or Repub. Bush is an unprecendented COWARD.

[Nightjock]

2. Even Nixon talked to protesters!

[julialnyc]

3. when I thought of what Clinton would do, I thought of

Richard Clark's book when he talked about Clinton walking in to meet with the families of TWA flight 800.......... everyone advised him not to meet with him because they were angry and in mourning.................... he didn't listen and walked into the room and really listened (and he had to have been a bit scared of that situation, but being brave should be a prerequisite for being President!)

[Skip Intro]

7. Oh yeah, Clinton would meet her

I remember in public speaking class, the teach played a clip of Clinton at a Veterans Day rally or something, early in his first term, with the lies of the right (that Clinton was anti-military) still fresh, he went before throngs of Vets, many booed him, but he went, spoke, and overcame - by the time the speech was done, the boos had subsided, and they were listening to him - he earned a bit of their respect that day. That was the whole point of watching his speech in class, to illustrate the power of an exceptional speech.

Of course, the discrace that now occupies the office would just prance around in a bomber jacket amongst real soldiers, all well orchestrated before the cameras.

[Clintmax]

4. Chimpyboy is such a coward I wasn't suprised...

Just strengthens my thought that the idiot must GO!

[davsand]

5. Cindy might still have her son had we NOT had the asswipe in office.

The refusal to meet with her is shameful enough--but in my mind the biggest thing to consider is the idea that a responsible ethical or even marginally sane President would not have lied out his ass to get us into this mess.

If dubya was not squatting in the Oval Office would Cindy Sheehan's son still be alive?



Laura

[stellanoir]

6. I'll bet the SUV

that shielded * from those nefarious protesters had more armor on it than 12 humvee's in Iraq combined.

Clinton probably would have appointed her to oversee the VA and invited her to the next SOTU.

Bush #41 would have tried to pay her off to shut her up and when she refused he would have sicked the CIA to torment her family.

Reagan would have tried to charm her and use her for a photo op.

Carter would be in the drainage ditch with her discussing philosophy.

Ford would have fallen down again.

Nixon would have asked if she was Jewish and tried to smear her.

Johnson would have had Lady Bird plant some wildflowers around Camp Casey.

Kennedy would have taken her sailing off the coast of Hyannisport.

Eisenhower would never have created such a colossal military blunder in the first place.

Don't know what Truman would have done. Hard to say about Harry.

Roosevelt would have taken her seriously.

Okay I'm done.

[Boomer]

8. Moot point

Eisenhower would never have started this war: he had too much respect for our country, our constitution, our military and our citizens.